Ginger soda delight

This is really a refreshing drink, and also quite addictive and definitely great for the immune system. Just don’t over do it!

Ingredients (serves about 8)

1 cup of grated ginger

600 ml filtered water

Juice of 2 lemons

Honey to your taste

Sparkling water to taste

There are two methods to making this one is to let the ginger seep, the other is to do it with raw ginger.  Whichever works for you both are good.  I find the raw easier and has a slightly fresher ginger taste.

Seeping Method

1. Grate one cup of ginger, in a saucepan so you dont lose any juice
2. add  600ml filtered water to the saucepan with a lid
3. Bring to boil and then take off the heat , leaving lid on
4. Leave for seep for 1 – 2 hour/s
5. Add juice of 2 lemons
6. Strain ginger/lemon mixture  into a sterilized bottle and store in fridge
7. Add honey (i usually add two table spoons
8. When ready to drink add about 60 – 80 ml ginger/lemon combo to a glass serve cold for the ultimate refreshing taste (add mint too if you have)
9. Fill to the top with cold sparkling water and enjoy!

Raw Method

1. Peel about 400 grams of ginger
2. Put it into a powerful blender with about 600 ml of filtered water and half a cup of honey  (or honey to your taste)
3. Squeeze 2 lemons into the blender
4. Pulverise everything
5. Strain all the bits out and put into a sterilised bottle in the fridge.
6. Add to sparkling water when you have a thirst that only this drink can quench!

 

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schweet (homemade) chilli sauce

sweet chilli sauce

• 2 large onions
• an inch of ginger
• 10 chillis (of the strength you prefer)
• 1 red pepper
• 60 ml apple cider vinegar (most types vinegar would work)
• 3 tablespoons (sugar/ or sugar replacer)
• 3 large cloves of garlic
• half a teaspoon of salt
• half a large pineapple (the fleshy bits not the hard part)
• large glug of olive oil

method

1.  chop onion and ginger up and put in a saucepan with a large glug of olive oil
2. Cooking on medium heat  keeping lid on to keep moisture in, do this till  its softened takes about 5 – 10 minutes
3. once softened turn up heat, add sugar and vinegar  stirring and give it 30 seconds to absorb
4. Turn heat down back to medium heat and throw in chopped garlic, red pepper and chillis and cook for about another 5 – 10 minutes until everything is softened and cooked (but not overcooked)
5. throw into a blender with the raw pineapple and pulverize
6. Store in sterilized jar, keeps for a about 2 weeks

carmelised apple banana bread

I have tried various banana bread recipes and i always come back to this base on Simply Recipes – and last night I made the best variation of it ever.   Today I shared it with my colleagues and my pottery class and everyone was raving about it.  What I like about this recipe, is its easyyy!

Ingredients
for the ‘bread’;
2 cups of cake flour
4 small very ripe bananas [its important that they are really ripe, even overripe]
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla essence/extract
2 eggs
6 dates chopped into small pieces
1 apple
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
large pinch of good quality salt
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup melted butter

 

Icing
100 grams of icing
half a lemon squeezed
zest of 1 lemon

 

Method
1. Set oven to 175 degree centigrade
2. In a frying pan melt the tablespoon of butter and add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 tablespoon sugar with the sliced apples [i use pink ladies], and cook till  they start to caramelise on medium heat, watch that you don’t burn them.
3. In large separate bowl mash the bananas well and mix  them together with the apples, chopped dates and the melted butter, mixing in well together till you have a smoothish chunky but even consistency, then add  your 1 cup of sugar, vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the egg mixing it all together well again.
4. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix it all in together
5. Add the flour, mixing it all in until its well combined, but don’t over mix
6. Butter your tin, put the mixture in your.  This makes 2 small loaves or you could make one larger loaf, i like to sprinkle just a tiny bit of brown sugar on the top for good measure
7. bake in the oven from anywhere from 30 minutes to 45, depending on what size you are making.
8. For the icing add the zest of one lemon and juice of half a  lemon to the icing sugar. I like a thicker icing so if its runny just keep adding more icing sugar.

 

Its an absolutely winner, you really can’t go wrong with this recipe.  What you will end up with is a moist and delicious banana loaf that has all sorts of flavours coming together and everyone begging for more.

pesto with a pinch…

 

Ingredients
1 punnet fresh coriander [ab
out 30 grams]
1 punnet fresh basil [about 30 grams]
2 fresh garlic cloves crushed, fresh is always better
40 grams of roasted unsalted cashews
quarter lemon squeezed
a large glug of olive oil
some cracked black pepper and good quality salt
about 40 grams hard yellow cheese, [i use gruyere/parmesan/pecorino/grand podano] depending on what is available
1 chilli [heat of your preference]

 Method

throw everything together except the cheese in a jug to blend with a hand blender, blend until a smooth chunky, scrape out with a spatula.  grate cheese with parmesan grater, and mix in walla. Pesto goes with everything. Enjoy.  It keeps well for about 5 days in the fridge.